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The Lost Seers of Avernus
When Kain first became a vampire, he traveled to the Cathedral at Avernus to eliminate the crazed Guardian Azimuth whose religious followers had turned to torturing citizens in the town. But her divinatory order of priests fled the Cathedral and town in horror at the hell Azimuth had brought from realms unknown. Hidden away from Azimuth and her new demonic servants, they watched in secrecy as the Circle was shattered like so much fragile glass. Fearful of the potential future with violent demons running amok, they determined to balance out the battlefield and formed a covert order which they called the Lost Seers of Avernus, a title chosen to express both their divinatory arts and their own willful defection from Avernus. In pursuit of secrecy, these prophets remained decentralized and scattered, often ignorant about other groups of their own kind and communicating through mystical means rather than physical meetings. Through divination, they located those worthy of joining their sacred society and stole these potential recruits away under cover of darkness to be inducted into their covens. As their memberships grew, they began to recover powerful relics which allowed them to survive against the demons, monsters and undead things that plagued Nosgoth due to the Circle's neglect. Eventually, a priestess named Roxen came to be plagued by otherworldly visions and was compelled by the knowledge they imparted to create strange equipment, ballistic devices unseen elsewhere in Nosgoth's history. Making use of these unique weapons, a band of prophets followed their own visions revealed through shared dreams, fighting their way across the land to uncover an ancient fountain of blood within the mines east of Willendorf. Upon laying eyes on this fountain, a recent inductee named Malus was driven to drink the strange dark blood within, and fell into a comatose state. Awaking after a year of stillness, Malus relayed visions that she had received of vampires feasting from fountains of blackened blood and perishing as it coursed through their veins. Malus herself perished after devoting the rest of her life to researching the mysterious blood fountain and her work was continued by others after she was gone. The blood expelled by the fountains was black as night, and this dark blood could apparently kill their otherworldly enemies but removing it from the fountain reverted the blood to its natural red, rendered harmless once more. Determined despite this to eventually harness this power, the prophets became a guardian sect dedicated to protecting the secret fountain. After many decades, the fountain's black blood faded back to an inert red, and a tradition was established whereby volunteers would periodically drink from the blood to maintain its hallowed black state, knowingly submitting themselves to the coma and visions that Malus had once endured. As Kain's empire fell into civil war and disarray, the magically-sensitive guardians of the fountains sensed a weakening of some force in Nosgoth. Many were dispatched to seek out the sources of these unusual sensations and discovered numerous other blood fountains throughout Nosgoth, having apparently been magically hidden away by Kain himself. Establishing new communities around each of these fountains, the Prophets continued their guard but despaired at being no closer to learning how to destroy the vampires who rightfully belonged in the grave. So it came to pass that when humankind beyond their cloisters erupted into rebellion, the Prophets took desperate measures. Across all of Nosgoth, their many sects conducted mad ceremonies in which large doses of the holy black blood were consumed, sending the drinkers into shock and killing many. Those who emerged from their comatose states found themselves blinded but also empowered as their own blood had been sanctified and blackened, granting them new power with which they could stand against any inhuman entity that dared to menace the world. And though their wartime allies whisper amongst themselves about unholy rituals and witches, that power is too great to waste, and so the Lost Seers of Avernus are welcomed as allies in the final war for Nosgoth. Category:The Age of Hope